# Oh that's who that was?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935 "2025-05-06T00:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/1 "2025-05-06T00:12:17Z")
It was only just today that I realized Pedro Pascal played Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones. He was so great in that part but I just never connected them. Has that ever happened to you where you realize someone played a character much later? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/2 "2025-05-06T00:18:30Z")
We were watching something or other one night, I don’t remember what, and one of the characters inspired me to comment, “I could picture Steve Buscemi playing that character.” My wife said, “That _is_ Steve Buscemi.” Blush. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/3 "2025-05-06T00:19:34Z")
Often. But I can’t think of a specific instance. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/4 "2025-05-06T00:35:56Z")
I was several seasons into _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ when I learned that Charlie’s mom was played by the same actress as Miss Yvonne from _Pee-Wee’s Playhouse_. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/5 "2025-05-06T01:18:27Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I was several seasons into _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ when I learned that Charlie’s mom was played by the same actress as Miss Yvonne from _Pee-Wee’s Playhouse_. She died in February of this year. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/6 "2025-05-06T01:36:25Z")
Not an actor, but a writer: I was a big fan of Howard Overman’s work on _Misfits_ and _Crazyhead._ But I later discovered he had written"Missions," one of my favorite episodes of _Hu$tle_. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/7 "2025-05-06T01:44:23Z")
Rebecca De Mornay in Jessica Jones a while back. I didn’t place her until I saw a clip of _The Hand That Rocks The Cradle_ years later while looking up something about Annabella Sciorra (who was in _Daredevil_ on Netflix). ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/8 "2025-05-06T02:00:24Z")
Years ago when I was on dial up, I found an online comic book called Chesire Crossing. It was a story involving characters from The Wizard Of Oz, Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, plus just Mary Poppins. The creator obviously could not draw. The art was made on MS Paint or such. It was almost entirely geometric shapes that had been carefully placed and then filled with color. But, the writing was fantastic! The creator had clearly done their reseach and understood the source material. It was a new, inventive and exciting story. But none of it violated canon. I recommended it to all my firends. Only this past month or so did somebody tell me that the creator of Chesire Crossing was Andy Weir, the wrter of The Martian. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/9 "2025-05-06T02:03:22Z")
I remembered him from a long running online comic he did before that one, _Casey & Andy_. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/10 "2025-05-06T07:33:02Z")
I used to do it all the time with both Sam Rockwell and Billy Crudup. Halfway through watching a movie that I hadn’t previously read about I would suddenly realize, “Oh that’s…” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/11 "2025-05-06T11:19:04Z")
I was watching the remake of Sabrina last night when it dawned on me that Nancy Macrhland who played Livia Soprano was the mother of Harrison Fords character. I also was surprised to learn that Dominic Chianese who played Junior Soprano was also in Boardwalk Empire as the Commodore. And today I learned he also was Johnny Ola in Godfather 2. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/12 "2025-05-06T11:50:09Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Has that ever happened to you where you realize someone played a character much later? Frequently. One case that stands out is Gene Hackman playing The Old Blind Hermit in _Young Frankenstein_. It seems incredibly obvious now, but when I first saw the film I didn’t realize that it was him until the final credits. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/13 "2025-05-06T12:06:31Z")
A couple of weeks ago, I channel surfed into a movie called, “Endless Love”. There was a scene that contained some young guy who had a small part that wasn’t at all necessary to the movie. I had to do a double take to realize it was Tom Cruise. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/14 "2025-05-06T12:08:36Z")
I believe the Commodore was played by Dabney Coleman. Dominic played his lawyer, Leander Cephas Whitlock. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/15 "2025-05-06T12:39:05Z")
I’m terrible with facial recognition, real life and roles of actors. When watching shows on TV with my husband, I’ll keep my tablet at hand because he’ll say "Isn’t that the guy who played [_character_] on [_show_] and I have to look it up. The best I can manage is thinking this one or that one looks sorta familiar. I’m usually pretty good with voices, but faces, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/16 "2025-05-06T12:43:30Z")
More than once I have been watching a particular movie and thought “That actor is really good. I wonder why I’ve never seen him in anything else before.” So I make it a point to watch the credits, so that I can find out who this wonderful new talent is. Invariably, it’s Gary Oldman, who of course I have seen dozens of times before. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/17 "2025-05-06T12:47:49Z")
On several occasions, I’ve watched _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ and thought “why does that bit-part actor look so familiar?” - only to find out later that they were a main cast member on _Herman’s Head_. Larry David must have loved that show… ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/18 "2025-05-06T13:00:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@Quimby](#): > > > > Has that ever happened to you where you realize someone played a character much later? > > Frequently. One case that stands out is Gene Hackman playing The Old Blind Hermit in _Young Frankenstein_. It seems incredibly obvious now, but when I first saw the film I didn’t realize that it was him until the final credits. I thought Gene Hackman was uncredited in _Young Frankenstein_. Now I guess I’ll have to watch it again to make sure. Man, the things I go through. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/19 "2025-05-06T13:09:54Z")
> [@Maus\_Magill](#): > > I thought Gene Hackman was uncredited in _Young Frankenstein_. IMDB doesn’t list him as “uncredited”. But the real evidence is to watch the credits. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935/20 "2025-05-06T13:30:17Z")
Boy, I hope I don’t miss it, otherwise I may have to watch it again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-thats-who-that-was/1017935.md?page=2)